We are still in this

[Bulldog from Birth]

It's a tough road for sure. But 6 teams in the last 9 years have fought their way to the Finals through the loser's bracket. We've got a clear path to Saturday. We need a rested Ginn to give us 5 solid innings tomorrow. And we need to Small to pitch us to a win on Friday vs Vandy. None of it is certain, but there is definitely a road you can see to Saturday. And you just have to hope it goes our way Saturday. We'll be at a big disadvantage pitching wise for sure. But it's one game. Anything can happen in one game. Vandy can tighten up. Our bats can catch fire. A couple bounces can go our way. It can still be done.

 

[maroonmania]

It's a tough road for sure. But 6 teams in the last 9 years have fought their way to the Finals through the loser's bracket. We've got a clear path to Saturday. We need a rested Ginn to give us 5 solid innings tomorrow. And we need to Small to pitch us to a win on Friday vs Vandy. None of it is certain, but there is definitely a road you can see to Saturday. And you just have to hope it goes our way Saturday. We'll be at a big disadvantage pitching wise for sure. But it's one game. Anything can happen in one game. Vandy can tighten up. Our bats can catch fire. A couple bounces can go our way. It can still be done.

It can be done but having to beat Vanderbilt (best team in the tournament) twice in a row IF we get by national seed Louisville is a tough row to hoe. If we were in the other bracket I could absolutely see us doing it. Someone besides Small, Plumlee and Ginn will have to start now for us to get through this. Will be interesting to see who that would be. Brandon Smith?

 

[8dog]

You gotta have 6 innings from Gordon to do this. Win tomorrow with ginn, liebs, white and someone else. Then go smith, gordon friday.

 

[WrapItDog]

And we need to Small to pitch us to a win on Friday vs Vandy.

Lemonis was asked post game if he would be comfortable pitching Small Friday if they win Thur? He said No I would not feel comfortable pitching Small Friday

 

[Forrest4Moore]

Does he realize that in 2 weeks, Small will be pitching on 4 days rest most starts for the rest of his life?

 

[Shadow34]

To utter my favorite Jim Ellis phrase of all time... “hope springs eternal” Now it’s gotta be one pitch at a time. Win each inning. Gotta score more early. But this team seems to thrive on being counted out. And to quote Rick Clarke “you can’t win a tournament you’re not in”. And unlike arky and aubbie, we are still in it. (I know that’s a phrase said by many, but I’m Pretty sure there are a few Hinds Eagles in here that played for ol Rick)

 

[tatedog]

I thought Rick Clarke was the guy who played the banjo on Hee Haw.**

 

[ronpolk]

Lemonis was asked post game if he would be comfortable pitching Small Friday if they win Thur? He said No I would not feel comfortable pitching Small Friday

I’m a little shocked that he wouldn’t pitch small Friday. But honestly it does not matter. We gotta win Friday and Saturday for it to matter. It makes no difference for Small to pitch a win against vandy Friday and then us lose on Saturday.

My main reason for pitching small Friday would be having him available for the championship series, if we made it that far. If he pitches Saturday, I’m not sure he’s available for the championship series.

With all that said, I 100% believe this team can still win this. It absolutely won’t be easy but it can be done.

 

[RocketDawg]

]I’m a little shocked that he wouldn’t pitch small Friday.[/B] But honestly it does not matter. We gotta win Friday and Saturday for it to matter. It makes no difference for Small to pitch a win against vandy Friday and then us lose on Saturday.

My main reason for pitching small Friday would be having him available for the championship series, if we made it that far. If he pitches Saturday, I’m not sure he’s available for the championship series.

With all that said, I 100% believe this team can still win this. It absolutely won’t be easy but it can be done.

He didn't say he wouldn't pitch Small; just said he would not feel comfortable doing it.

 

[tatedog]

And it's not like he threw a complete game against Auburn.

 

[Dawg1976]

Vandy too tough.

 

[Shadow34]

Not a complete game, but his pitch count was pretty high.

 

[ronpolk]

Not a complete game, but his pitch count was pretty high.

Yeah but from Sunday to Friday is plenty of rest.

 

[WrapItDog]

Not a complete game, but his pitch count was pretty high.

5 innings 102 pitches

 

[PineGroveBully]

If y'all are Lemonis do you ask Small how he feels about throwing Friday? Or if your conviction is no you don't throw him do you stick with it without a discussion? I'd think Small would want to throw, knowing it could be for the last time in that uniform. Sunday to Friday is plenty of rest. Even if he only gave you 4 solid innings, that's 4 innings you don't hafta rely on unproven pitchers.

 

[ronpolk]

If y'all are Lemonis do you ask Small how he feels about throwing Friday? Or if your conviction is no you don't throw him do you stick with it without a discussion? I'd think Small would want to throw, knowing it could be for the last time in that uniform. Sunday to Friday is plenty of rest. Even if he only gave you 4 solid innings, that's 4 innings you don't hafta rely on unproven pitchers.

This would be my approach. If he told me he wanted the ball, I’m giving it to him. I feel like he’s going to want the ball.

 

[Hankp22]

I'd go Small Saturday

6 days rest.

Tomorrow you hope Ginn can return to form and fully healthy. Then you hope he is efficient and limits bullpen exposure.

During Vanderbilt Game 1, you hope Smith can repeat his SEC Tourney outing and piece together what you can from what bullpen guys we habe remaining.

Saturday > Ethan

The championship rotation would be a fun discussion. But we have to get their first. I do think we have the arms to compete deep in the tourney. And I do agree were going to need Cole to be on his best game and he will have to extend his innings. Keegan and Plum will probably have to fit in somewhere. We may also get to finally see Cerantola. The talent is obvious and it showed today.

All that said, our bats have to wake up. We are going ourselves chances but we're lacking that big early hit. If we make it to Monday, we can win it.

 

[patdog]

Small is going to routinely pitch on 4 days rest coming off of a 102 pitch outing starting next month and for the rest of his career. No reason not to pitch him Friday if we make it that far.

 

[kired]

Good chance that weather still comes into play either Thursday or Friday (or both). Think they are forecasting possible severe weather for some time Thursday night and then scattered storms for Friday.

 

[PineGroveBully]

Well we've got to win Friday (and thurs) before he can throw Saturday. If he wants to go Friday I think you've gotta hand him the ball. And Smith hopefully will be a fine pitcher one day, but the lineup he would face in Omaha is a whole other animal that what he faced in Hoover.

I'm sorry but Small > Smith with season on the line. Get to Saturday and you can just go matchups in a bullpen game if you wish.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

I do not think we have the arms to win 3 games in 3 days. If we did, we would have had that success today following Plumlee. Lemonis knows he did not get what he expected from #14, and it is probably giving him heart burn right now. That and Allen throwing to second when he had a sure out at home on a force and possible DP back to 1st. That play change the whole complexion because of what happened on the very next pitch. So Lemonis knew he had a formula to get the pitching through if we won game 2. But he probably also knows that continuously not scoring runs until late in the game finally caught up to us. If State goes 4 innings with scoring 0 or even just 1 run tomorrow, our season is likely going to end tomorrow. You cannot expect to come from behind game after game at this level of competition.

 

[PineGroveBully]

Boy would that not muck things up, no pun intended.

 

[Hankp22]

All fair points

Well we've got to win Friday (and thurs) before he can throw Saturday. If he wants to go Friday I think you've gotta hand him the ball. And Smith hopefully will be a fine pitcher one day, but the lineup he would face in Omaha is a whole other animal that what he faced in Hoover.

I'm sorry but Small > Smith with season on the line. Get to Saturday and you can just go matchups in a bullpen game if you wish.

But if Lemonis says he would be uncomfortable throwing Small on 5, then I expect that to be evaluated again Saturday if necessary. It's obvious that Small needs to get the ball as soon as all decision makers feel good about it.

Smith has talent. Starting him would be asking a whole lot from a fresbman but he has potential to be very good here. And to get that experience could be great for his development. He has earned the ball as our #4 starter and id be curious to watch him respond.

Also keep in mind that it's fair to believe Vandy will go with Mason Hickman Friday. Hickman is talented. But we won't face Rocker. And that would leave a potential Small/Fellows rematch Satuday.

The odds are obviously against us. Our bats need to get started early and apply pressure from offensive side.

 

[bruiser.sixpack]

Yep. And it wouldn’t really help us, because even if we were to get tomorrow’s game in and win, then get Friday rained out, that would force you to play on Saturday and then Sunday if you win Saturday. So you would be throwing Mangum and Westburg in the championship round.****

 

[Bulldogg31]

I’m usually as sunshiny as anyone on this board but this is Vandy’s year. They’re gonna rip though the CWS like they did the SEC regular season and the SEC Tournament. They’re a great team. We’re really really good, but we’re not great. Still a good year and we’ll see how the next few days go.

 

[Shamoan]

We were always going to have to beat Vandy twice to advance. Getting one of them today would have obviously been preferable, but now we keep it going vs Louisville.

 

[olblue.sixpack]

Small is going to routinely pitch on 4 days rest coming off of a 102 pitch outing starting next month and for the rest of his career. No reason not to pitch him Friday if we make it that far.

Just like any other pitching prospect, he wont be rushed into a rotation at the next level. I don’t think it is uncommon for a college starter’s pitch count to be dialed back early in his professional career.

 

[Lowdog]

I’m usually as sunshiny as anyone on this board but this is Vandy’s year. They’re gonna tip though the CWS like they did the SEC regular season and the SEC Tournament. They’re a great team. We’re really really good, but we’re not great. Still a good year and we’ll see how the next few days go.

I totally agree! We are a really good team but not elite. Vandy is a elite team top to bottom. If we all would be honest with ourselves we all saw our deficiencies this season. Infield was shaky with multiple players, pitching we have a couple really good, hitting has been up and down all season. That will not win championships. It’ll get you far, but will not win against Elite.

 

[Jeffreauxdawg]

The best chance I see is:

Thursday = Ginn 6+ or an offensive blowout
Friday = Brandon Smith + Bullpen gem
Saturday = Ethan Small Masterpiece
Monday = Plumlee 6+
Tuesday = Keegan James doing what he did yesterday for 4+ in a start

Wednesday = Ginn + Small... all hands on deck


The biggest task will be Friday if Ginn can take care of Louisville. Vandy is going to roll out Hickman who is 8-0 with a 2.23 era, 0.95 whip, 116k/23BB in 84.2 innings. With a completely rested bullpen behind him. Brandon Smith will need to be a stud.

If we get to Saturday it will be Fellows and Small both on 5 days rest and will be a true 50/50 game.

The offense will have to carry the Championship series if it gets to that point.

If all of this comes together, there will be 2 points where Cole Gordon may have to go 1-3 innings for 2-3 straight days like he did in the regionals and supers and may end up deserving of CWS MVP if we win it all.

If everyone else plays up to there standard, I am looking at Brandon Smith and Cole Gordon to be magical and we have a chance... Injuns and all.

 

[Drebin]

But if Lemonis says he would be uncomfortable throwing Small on 5, then I expect that to be evaluated again Saturday if necessary. It's obvious that Small needs to get the ball as soon as all decision makers feel good about it.

Smith has talent. Starting him would be asking a whole lot from a fresbman but he has potential to be very good here. And to get that experience could be great for his development. He has earned the ball as our #4 starter and id be curious to watch him respond.

Also keep in mind that it's fair to believe Vandy will go with Mason Hickman Friday. Hickman is talented. But we won't face Rocker. And that would leave a potential Small/Fellows rematch Satuday.

The odds are obviously against us. Our bats need to get started early and apply pressure from offensive side.

The idea of saving Small for Saturday is stupid. It’s beyond stupid. If we were to beat Louisville and then Lemonis decided to go with Johnny Fullstaff over Small with 4 days rest, he should be fired on the spot. I mean, Cohen should go out there and fire him on the field during the game. That’s how stupid it would be.

You have to win. There is no tomorrow if you don’t.

 

[olblue]

I do not think we have the arms to win 3 games in 3 days. If we did, we would have had that success today following Plumlee. Lemonis knows he did not get what he expected from #14, and it is probably giving him heart burn right now. That and Allen throwing to second when he had a sure out at home on a force and possible DP back to 1st. That play change the whole complexion because of what happened on the very next pitch. So Lemonis knew he had a formula to get the pitching through if we won game 2. But he probably also knows that continuously not scoring runs until late in the game finally caught up to us. If State goes 4 innings with scoring 0 or even just 1 run tomorrow, our season is likely going to end tomorrow. You cannot expect to come from behind game after game at this level of competition.

Had the arms to sweep Ole Miss and Georgia.

 

[olblue]

6 days rest.

Tomorrow you hope Ginn can return to form and fully healthy. Then you hope he is efficient and limits bullpen exposure.

During Vanderbilt Game 1, you hope Smith can repeat his SEC Tourney outing and piece together what you can from what bullpen guys we habe remaining.

Saturday > Ethan

The championship rotation would be a fun discussion. But we have to get their first. I do think we have the arms to compete deep in the tourney. And I do agree were going to need Cole to be on his best game and he will have to extend his innings. Keegan and Plum will probably have to fit in somewhere. We may also get to finally see Cerantola. The talent is obvious and it showed today.

All that said, our bats have to wake up. We are going ourselves chances but we're lacking that big early hit. If we make it to Monday, we can win it.

I would love MSU’s chances of making the finals with Small pitching on Saturday.

 

[Tall Dawg]

Small is going to routinely pitch on 4 days rest coming off of a 102 pitch outing starting next month and for the rest of his career. No reason not to pitch him Friday if we make it that far.

TOTALLY CORRECT answer! IF we make it to Friday and do not pitch Small for at least 100 pitches that will be TOTALLY wrong strategy!

#endofdiscussion

 

[Cat Duck]

The idea of saving Small for Saturday is stupid. It’s beyond stupid. If we were to beat Louisville and then Lemonis decided to go with Johnny Fullstaff over Small with 4 days rest, he should be fired on the spot. I mean, Cohen should go out there and fire him on the field during the game. That’s how stupid it would be.

You have to win. There is no tomorrow if you don’t.

Absolutely wrong. You have to win TWICE. The game you throw Small does not matter. May as well give him another day's rest.

Similar to when we held Graveman vs. UCLA. Did not matter if he threw Tuesday or Wednesday, because you had to win a game without him either way.

I get that you have to win today to get to tomorrow, and then tomorrow to get to Saturday. But the fact is you have to plan to win 3 times.

 

[Cat Duck]

TOTALLY CORRECT answer! IF we make it to Friday and do not pitch Small for at least 100 pitches that will be TOTALLY wrong strategy!

#endofdiscussion

Then we lose Saturday. Doesn't matter. Goal is to win a national championship (and not kill our arms doing it).

If you don't think we have the pitching to win Friday then we won't win Saturday anyway.

 

[Bulldogg31]

Absolutely wrong. You have to win TWICE. The game you throw Small does not matter. May as well give him another day's rest.

Similar to when we held Graveman vs. UCLA. Did not matter if he threw Tuesday or Wednesday, because you had to win a game without him either way.

I get that you have to win today to get to tomorrow, and then tomorrow to get to Saturday. But the fact is you have to plan to win 3 times.

The one thing I’ll add though is that in the first game your opponent isn’t facing elimination, so they might play looser than if their backs are against the wall. Pressure affects everyone differently.

 

[Go Budaw]

Absolutely wrong. You have to win TWICE. The game you throw Small does not matter. May as well give him another day's rest.

Similar to when we held Graveman vs. UCLA. Did not matter if he threw Tuesday or Wednesday, because you had to win a game without him either way.

I get that you have to win today to get to tomorrow, and then tomorrow to get to Saturday. But the fact is you have to plan to win 3 times.

The answer is Small on Friday either way. If you are planning for the immediate future only, he’s the best option to get us to Saturday. If you are planning for the Finals, throwing him on Friday is the only way we have a chance to pitch him at anything close to full strength in the Finals. He’s not gonna give us much on 3 days rest in that Wednesday game if he pitches on Saturday.

But overall, we are in the losers bracket. We have to have our best guy out there at all times until Saturday concludes or our season ends (unless we get a big, big lead in a game today or tomorrow and get a chance to steal innings with someone). It’s a no brainer to get Small out there as soon as he is ready. The ONLY way he doesn’t go Friday is if he still feels stiff or sore or whatever and feels he needs another day to be effective.

 

[Cat Duck]

The one thing I’ll add though is that in the first game your opponent isn’t facing elimination, so they might play looser than if their backs are against the wall. Pressure affects everyone differently.

Very good point.

 

[Cat Duck]

The answer is Small on Friday either way. If you are planning for the immediate future only, he’s the best option to get us to Saturday. If you are planning for the Finals, throwing him on Friday is the only way we have a chance to pitch him at anything close to full strength in the Finals. He’s not gonna give us much on 3 days rest in that Wednesday game if he pitches on Saturday.

But overall, we are in the losers bracket. We have to have our best guy out there at all times until Saturday concludes or our season ends (unless we get a big, big lead in a game today or tomorrow and get a chance to steal innings with someone). It’s a no brainer to get Small out there as soon as he is ready. The ONLY way he doesn’t go Friday is if he still feels stiff or sore or whatever and feels he needs another day to be effective.

I think he's out for the Finals either way. Except maybe in a relief role.

 

[QuadrupleOption]

Seems appropriate for these times....